Happy New Year, neighbor! Let’s make it a good one with fresh bagels, a wine-lover’s paradise, lit boathouses and a gripping new podcast.
• American Trench Opens Storefront in Ardmore
Locally owned and internationally known menswear label American Trench has chosen Ardmore for its first brick-and-mortar store. Founded by Lower Merion High School grads Jacob Hurwitz and David Neill, American Trench sells coats (duh), scarves, hoodies, footwear and the brand’s signature wool socks, along with items from their sub-brand, Original Equipment.
Hurwitz and Neill launched the company a decade ago with a goal of designing an American version of the iconic Burberry trench. It took the pair three years to create a prototype and find a manufacturer (neither have any formal textile training). A Kickstarter campaign helped them get started, and they added a sock line at the last minute to lure more price-conscious customers. The socks were a surprise hit as orders poured in from boutiques around the world. In 2023, they earned a spot on New York magazine’s roundup of best wool socks for men.
While Hurwitz and Neill have been shipping and storing their merchandise locally since the company’s founding, the store gives them a convenient avenue to offload merchandise and connect with customers in person. In another nod to their Philly roots, the pair outfitted the shop with furniture and artwork from local artists.
American Trench is located at 15 E. Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM & Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM. The shop is closed on Mondays.
• Start Spreading the News!
Following a steady build over the last 13 years, Spread Bagelry is prepping for its biggest move yet: a 3,000-square-foot café in Newtown Square’s Ellis Preserve. Part of a bold, multi-state expansion for the uber-popular brand, the café will feature a La Colombe coffee bar plus all the usual favorites, like Carnegie Breakfast (New York pastrami, eggs and provolone on your choice of bagel) and the award-winning Standard (bagel topped with egg, Cooper cheese, bacon or sausage).
The décor will mimic a rustic European café with plenty of spots to sit, sip and savor those legendary bagels, which are hand-shaped, boiled in a honey-malt water mixture and baked in a wood-fired oven.
Other new locations for the chain include Wynnewood, Ambler and Upper Dublin locally and Savannah, Georgia down south. A café in Charleston, South Carolina will open soon.
• Bounce Away the Winter Blues
Wanna beat the winter blahs and get the wiggles out? Bounce on over to Urban Air indoor adventure park in East Norriton, now under new ownership. Since purchasing the franchise in October, Brian Halligan and wife Melissa have been busy making enhancements to the park, including fresh paint, new flooring and an attraction called “Drop Zone,” in which participants jump (or flip) from a trampoline and land on a giant inflatable airbag. Other park highlights include bumper cars, a ropes course, climbing wall, tumble track, zip line and trampolines. The open layout boasts plenty of seating for parents, a café and lockers.
For the past 20 years, the Halligan’s have owned and operated Flourtown Country Club. The Urban Air franchise opportunity came along just as the couple was looking to add another family-friendly venue to their real estate portfolio. While the facility does a brisk birthday party business, the park also offers “Fundraise & Fly” nights for local groups and nonprofits. On those nights, 20 percent of ALL ticket sales benefit the “host” organization. Better jump on it!
Urban Air is located at 2700 Dekalb Pike in East Norriton. Hours are Monday – Thursday 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Friday 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM & Sunday 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM. The park is also available for private parties outside of regular business hours.
• New Crime Podcast with Local Roots
A gruesome gang that terrorized Chester County in the 1970s is the subject of a gripping new podcast written, produced and hosted by Devon native Amanda Lamb.
An Episcopal Academy alum, Lamb brings a unique perspective to the story; at age 14, she sat in the back of a West Chester courtroom and watched her father, Chester County district attorney William H. Lamb, prosecute the gang’s fearsome leader, Bruce Johnston, Sr., as he sat trial for murder. Now, 45 years later, she’s shining a light on how it all went down.
Informally called “the rural mafia,” the Johnson Gang began dabbling in petty theft and quickly progressed to armed robberies, grand theft auto and murder. (The 1986 film At Close Range, starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken, was loosely based on the gang’s reign of terror.)
Consisting of eight episodes, “The Killing Month August 1978” walks listeners through the gang’s increasingly brazen acts of violence and features interviews with those involved in the case, including Lamb’s father, who shared boxes of news clippings and notes from the trial with his daughter. The podcast is also interspersed with Amanda Lamb’s own memories of watching her father bring gang members to justice.
The Killing Month August 1978 is available on Apple and Spotify.
• Couple Plans Wine Destination in West Chester
Wine lovers are toasting the newest addition to downtown West Chester, a labor of love created by wine growers Josh and Allison Owen. Years ago, the couple embarked on an ambitious effort to produce their own wines on California’s Northern Coast. Today, Turks Head Wine boasts an acclaimed portfolio of varietals, from crisp whites to vibrant reds.
Located in a 10,000-square-foot historic building on Church Street, The Bottle Shoppe stocks all varieties of Turks Head Wine, plus wine accessories and specialty items like branded tote bags, t-shirts and hats. The rest of the building is currently under renovation. Scheduled for completion sometime this summer, phase two will feature a wine-tasting room and lounge, private tasting rooms and a classroom (Allison is a Level 3 Sommelier and Certified Wine Instructor). The couple also plan to offer VIP memberships.
The Bottle Shoppe is located at 120 North Church Street in West Chester. Hours are Wednesday – Thursday 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Friday & Saturday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM & Sunday 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM. The store is closed on Monday & Tuesday.
• Boathouse Row Gets Lit (Again)
For nearly 50 years, passersby have oohed and aahed at the 15 boathouses dotting the Schuylkill River, all outlined in twinkling lights. The boathouses went dark last year as part of a $2.1 million upgrade to the lighting system (the lights were last refurbished in 2016).
Once the upgrades are complete within the next month or two, Boathouse Row will feature 6,400 next-generation, energy-efficient LED bulbs with 16 million color combinations that operators can program to make the lights “dance.” When the lights resume, organizations, corporations and institutions can submit requests to Philadelphia Parks & Recreation for a special Boathouse Row lighting to support their cause.
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